Philip Powell

Philip Powell joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in September 2023 as the federal program officer (FPO) for the State of Arkansas. Philip also became the FPO for Oklahoma in June 2024. In this role, Philip coordinates partnerships and outreach with the state and local governments, community groups, and other entities with a vested interest in NTIA’s high-speed internet grant programs and policy issues. Philip works directly with the Arkansas and Oklahoma broadband offices and the state-level county and municipal associations to ensure comprehensive engagement from all stakeholders in the state on the State’s high-speed internet planning and funding process.

Prior to joining the NTIA, Philip was the Director of Local Affairs and Rural Development at Arkansas Farm Bureau where he advocated on behalf of the organization’s 180,000 members on agricultural and rural issues, including rural broadband access. Philip tracked state legislation and local government issues that impacted Arkansas’s farmers and ranchers. Prior to Arkansas Farm Bureau, he spent two years in sales and operations with Chonex, Inc, an ag startup that recycles poultry manure into an organic microbial soil amendment to help with soil restoration.

Philip holds a Bachelor of Arts in American History from The University of The South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Philip also has a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics and Business from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Outside of his professional work, Philip enjoys spending time working on his farm with his family in Blevins, Arkansas, where he calls home. Philip serves on two Arkansas state boards, the Board of Trustees for the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Arkansas School for the Deaf, and the Arkansas Board of Hearing Instrument Dispensers. Philip also serves on the board of Arkansas Hands & Voices, a nonprofit that works with families of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.